Cabinet Office

UK Government Union Capability Independent Review

lord wallace of tankerness: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the report of Lord Dunlop's review into UK Government Union capability.

lord true: Lord Dunlop reported to the Prime Minister in the Autumn and the UK Government is carefully considering its recommendations.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

House of Lords: Staff

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what nationalities are represented among the staff of the House of Lords.

lord mcfall of alcluith: The House of Lords Administration staff are responsible for self-declaring their nationality or citizenship. As at 27 February 2020, the House of Lords Administration employs staff who identify as nationals or citizens of the following 26 countries and nations: United KingdomAustraliaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaColombiaFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIndiaIrelandItalyJamaicaKenyaLithuaniaMoroccoNigeriaPolandPortugalSierra LeoneSpainTunisiaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited States of America

Catering and Retail Services (HL): Migrant Workers

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many staff in the House of Lords Catering and Retail Services department are not British nationals.

lord mcfall of alcluith: There are 165 people employed by the House of Lords Catering and Retail Service department, of those 60 are not British nationals, 104 are British nationals, and one has declined to declare their nationality.

House of Lords: Staff

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what are the pay ranges for House of Lords staff; and how many staff are employed at each grade.

lord mcfall of alcluith: The following pay ranges are effective from 1 April 2019.   GradeRangeEmployees at this gradeHL1£20,76227HL2£21,64437HL3£21,748 - £23,76645HL4£23,870 - £26,86879HL5£26,450 - £30,81398HL6£31,150 - £37,25570HL7£37,500 - £45,58385HL8£50,800 - £62,02380HL9£63,400 - £75,2018SB1£72,500 - £95,96424SB1A£78,000 - £108,4824SB2£92,000 - £119,8507SB3£115,000 - £158,8051JG4£188,9011  There are 82 House of Lords employees that are not captured in the above, as they are employed on a rate of pay outside of the grading structure. This group includes those on the Administration Fast Stream, those employed on variable hours contracts within Catering and Retail Services and Hansard, and employees on career break.

Ministry of Defence

Warships

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they remain committed to maintaining a force of 19 operational destroyers and frigates by the 2030s, as stated in their reportNational Shipbuilders Strategy, published in September 2017.

baroness goldie: We remain committed to ensuring that the Royal Navy will have the ships required to fulfil Defence commitments now and in the future.The Prime Minister has committed to undertake the deepest review of Britain's security, defence and foreign policy. This review will examine how we strengthen and prioritise our alliances, diplomacy and development and will consider all aspects of our defence and security capabilities, including our approach to procurement and maintaining our technological edge.

Type 31 Frigates

lord empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to accelerate the construction of the new Type 31 class of frigates for the Royal Navy, given the increasing workload being created by the situation in the Gulf and the imminent deployment of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

baroness goldie: We remain committed to ensuring the Royal Navy has the ships and capabilities required to fulfil Defence commitments now and in the future.The first Type 31 Frigate will be in the water in 2023 and Babcock is contractually obliged to deliver all five Type 31 Frigates to the Ministry of Defence by the end of 2028.The Prime Minister has committed to undertake the deepest review of Britain's security, defence and foreign policy. This review will examine how we strengthen and prioritise our alliances, diplomacy and development and will consider all aspects of our defence and security capabilities, including our approach to procurement and maintaining our technological edge. We are considering a number of options to increase the availability of ships during this period.

Type 31 Frigates

lord empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the new Type 31 class of frigate will be fitted with an anti-ship missile system.

baroness goldie: Flexible by design, the Type 31 frigates will be adaptable to a range of capabilities, which may include an anti-ship missile system.

Home Office

Immigration Controls

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many additional staff they will require to administer the points-based immigration system; and where will any such staff be located.

baroness williams of trafford: Resourcing requirements for the points-based immigration system are being considered as part of the usual operational planning and budget process.

Immigration Controls

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what level of English will be required of a person applying for a visa under the points-based immigration system; what existing qualifications will be accepted, if any; and what procedures they will use to assess proficiency in the English language.

baroness williams of trafford: We require individuals coming under existing immigration routes to demonstrate an appropriate level of English. Currently, for skilled workers, this is currently set at intermediate (B1) level. Applicants can meet this requirement if they:pass a Secure English Language Test at an approved test centre;are a medical professional who has passed an English Language assessment for their professional registration in the UK;hold a degree qualification which was taught in English;are a national of a majority English-speaking country; orhave shown that they meet the requirement in a previous immigration application.Having a suitable English language requirement is crucial to ensuring people coming to live, work and study in the UK are able to integrate into society. Future requirements will broadly reflect current arrangements.

Immigration Controls

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether proficiency in (1) Welsh, (2) Scottish Gaelic, and (3) Irish, will qualify for points under the new points-based immigration system.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government has no plans to award points for these languages under the new points-based immigration system.

Northern Ireland Office

Anniversaries: Northern Ireland

lord evans of weardale: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to commemorate in 2021 the centenary of the establishment of Northern Ireland.

viscount younger of leckie: As outlined in New Decade, New Approach, the UK Government is committed to working alongside the restored Executive to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland in 2021 in a spirit of mutual respect, inclusiveness and reconciliation, in line with the principles for remembering. We are committed to facilitating national recognition and international awareness of this significant anniversary, with opportunities to mark the centenary in NI, across the UK, across the island of Ireland and internationally. We intend to use a cross-Whitehall, collaborative approach to support and deliver projects to mark the centenary. Further details on these projects will be available shortly.

Borders: Northern Ireland

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland as part of the Withdrawal Agreementfor the UK's exit from the EU.

viscount younger of leckie: The Protocol ensured that the UK left the EU as one United Kingdom whilst upholding the provisions of the Belfast (“Good Friday”) Agreement. The provisions of the Protocol mean that there will be no hard border with Ireland. Northern Ireland remains part of the UK customs territory and will be able to participate in the UK’s free trade agreements. The Protocol ensures that there will be no diminution of certain rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity provisions, as set out in the Belfast (“Good Friday”) Agreement, as a result of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Google

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Google's decision to move all data about UK users of its services to the US.

baroness barran: Google has announced that it is updating its Terms of Service for UK customers so that Google US, rather than Google Ireland, will now be the service provider and the data controller responsible for UK users’ information.Data rights laws in the UK will continue to apply to Google's treatment of personal data of UK users, whether UK users are served from Ireland or the US. Google has confirmed that it will continue to apply the GDPR standard of protection for UK users, with no change in its approach to privacy, including how it collects and processes UK users’ information. The UK is committed to high data protection standards and we are confident that data protection laws in the UK provide appropriate protection for users in the UK.